The week started off with a bang with 12 new students joining us. It’s great to have you all here, and on behalf of the GV team I’d like to welcome you all to the school and Byron Bay. It’s going to be a great summer!!
Welcome Maria, Evi, Daniella, Nadia, Vanessa, Yong-Sik, Janina, Daniel, Linda, Lea, Jong and Gabriella. If you guys need anything, please drop into the office and talk to either Kate or I, any time! We’re here to help.
Posted in Announcements, Pictures, Student News
Today, very sadly Claire is leaving us.
She has been a great student whose English has come along really well over the last six weeks. She has been a real inspiration to us all here at GV, with her constant smile and willingness to partake well in class and in our activities..
I caught up with her briefly before she left and this is what she had to say….
“Hi I’m Claire, from France. Toulouse. In France I go to high school, and am studying science.”
What did you do back at home and what made you decide to come to Australia?
I really wanted to come to Australia because I wanted to see and experience Australia and Byron Bay. I had heard great things about Byron especially how attractive it is. Of course, I also wanted to improve my English, and what better way to do that than in a wonderful beachside town.
How long have you been at GV Byron and what are you studying?
I was here for my summer holidays, six weeks in total. I am currently in the General English Intermediate class. I really like my class, my teacher Andrew is really good. I think he’s a good teacher, he’s funny, he’s very attentive, we really speak a lot in class and practice the language points we study. I have to say in comparison to my English teachers in France, he is really really good.
What do you plan to do when you have completed your studies with us?
Sadly… I have to go home and back to school.
What has been the single best moment that you have experienced since you joined GV Byron?
I have really liked meeting students from all around the world. The classroom environment has been great too. The beach, the surf, (I’m becoming a great surfer!!!) and the relaxed lifestyle.
What is your favourite place in Byron?
Of course.. the beach.
I‘d also like to say that I have had a really cool time here. People are very relaxed and not so worried about the time, just more concerned about enjoying their life. This is a good change from France for me. I have really enjoyed meeting all of the different people. The school in general is a nice place, I’m happy here and feel very confident to speak and enjoy myself. I really feel my English has improved, and the activities have been fun. The circus was AMAZING!!!
Posted in Stay in Touch, Student News, Study
Today we got to have GV’s very own student Ellen teach us all a fantastic Hip Hop routine.
Lots and lots of laughs! Thanks Ellen! 
Posted in Activities, Student News
The wonderful Saleta delighted and tantalised our taste buds by creating a fantastic Spanish Tortilla.
She tells me that the Northern Spanish Octopus meal is far better, but sadly we couldn’t find the right sized octopus!! Thanks for cooking for us.. as you can see we loved it!
Posted in Activities, Student News
The weather has been wonderful recently, beautiful days, crystal blue skies and gorgeous sunsets…
all of which means… it’s BEACH SOCCER time again. We had a lot of fun on the beach and Kate proved to us for once and all that she is the soccer queen, much to Eduardo’s surprise!! Zac, as always, was a wonderful addition to the team (although no one is quite sure which team he was playing for!) and made us all laugh with his ball skills.
Good on you guys.. see you next week for round two!
Posted in Activities, Pictures, Student News
There are many many wonderful things about living in Byron… and of course one of those is all of the colourful people who live here.
This afternoon we spent some time trying to look like a “local” by making Tye Dye shirts… very successfully it would seem!
The results speak for themselves..
Posted in Activities, Pictures, Student News
We very sadly had to say goodbye to our first Junior Study tour on Friday.
This was a really succesful tour and we all really had a lot of fun getting to know them. We did various things from Kayaking, to surfing, to going to the circus, to dancing to … well anything you can imagine! And.. of course.. we learnt lots of ENGLISH!!
Thanks guys for being such a wonderful and positive part of the school.
We wish you all the best and look forward to seeing you again..
Posted in Activities, Announcements, Stay in Touch, Student News
On a beautiful Friday afternoon for the last day of our junior Japanese school group tour the ice cream truck dropped round!
Wonderful!!
Posted in Activities, Byron Bay Secrets, Student News
To brighten up everyone’s day last week we had a mid-winter Xmas. It was pretty wild weather outside and so the treasure hunt was a unique experience!
The chocolate game was a real winner with Marie and Ellen partaking with full gusto! Merry mid-winter Xmas everyone!!
Posted in Activities, Pictures, Student News
Simon, who studied with us for six months here at GV Byron, sent us this lovely message on the weekend! I wanted to pass it on to all the teachers and students as I know we all remember Simon very fondly!
I just went over some pictures, some memories and GV’s blog… I’m about to cry! I miss you soooooo much. I’ll do anything to go back in time! Now, I’m studying really hard and distributing my time in many responsibilities including work, which I’ve never done before here… Can you believe I am an English teacher now jeje
Please… send my most sincerely regards to Justin, Ginny, Angie and off course to you… and your daughter shhhhhhh (kidding).
Thank you for everything Becks… You are super cool and I miss you very much! I hope to see you again some time…
Bye!
Simón Barrera
Great to hear from you again Simon and amazed and pleased to hear that you are now an English Teacher!! Good for you!!
Posted in Stay in Touch, Student News
The week has kicked off with a real bang! We welcomed new students, had lunch and then got right into Zumba hip hop style.
Lots and lots of fun… thanks for participating so willingly everyone! You all looked brilliant!
Posted in Activities, Events, Pictures, Student News
Fe, who has been with us for four months, dazzled us all with her amazing skills in the kitchen. She cooked us a beautiful meal…called Moqueca with Farofa! (I’m told that Moqueca is the fish part and Farofa is the side dish..)
Fe very kindly has given me the recipe to this delicious and wonderful meal. It was so good that lots of the students have asked me for the recipe so that they can cook this at home!!
For the Moquecca:
4 Onions, 4 Tomatoes, 4 Green, red yellow capsicum,
1.5 kilos of fish (We used Salmon)
Olive oil
Paprika, dash of salt
One bunch of spring onions and a sprig of parsley
2 cans of coconut milk.
Cut all of the vegetables up and deseed. Marinate the fish in lemon juice with salt for at least an hour. Place oil in the base of a pan. Layer the onion capsicum and tomato and parsley and then lie the fish on top. Mix herbs and garlic and put a liberal dash of olive oil on top. Repeat this. Leave to steam until almost cooked, then place coconut cream into the pan. Heat until almost boiled. (Season to taste)
Farofa:
4 packets of cream crackers, onion, garlic, 200 grams of olives and butter.
break the crackers into crumbs. Place butter, onion and garlic into pan until lightly browned. Add crumbs and mix place olives into mixture.
ENJOY!!!
Posted in Activities, Student News
As tensions have been running high around the ping pong table over the last few weeks, we took the school down to the local tennis club to see who the real “Tennis” champion is..
Although everyone participated and had lots of fun, Marcelo, Hideki and Keisuke showed us all how the game should really be played! Good on you guys!!
We look forward to round two….
Posted in Activities, Byron Bay Secrets, Student News
I’m forever surprised and delighted to see all of the great and creative moments that happen around the school.
Our very sweet Hatsushiba Hashimoto highschool students very kindly put on a wonderful traditional Japanese afternoon for us, entertaining us with a traditional fisherman dance as well as helping us write our names in Kanji.
We all had a lot of fun watching them get into their traditional dance, and the more brave amongst us were able to be convinced to give the dance a go, much to all of our heartfelt amusement! Thanks
Posted in Activities, Student News
Patrick began studying with us in March for 14 weeks. He studied the IELTS Preparation course as well as General English and sat the IELTS test last month. He let me know this week that he got an overall band score of…. 8!
This is a fantastic score. We are all really proud of you Patrick, your hard work and dedication really paid off. Congratulations and good luck with your future studies in Sydney. WELL DONE!!!
Posted in Stay in Touch, Student News
As always the circus was a huge amount of fun… the pictures below tell the tale!
It’s so nice to see everyone being so supportive and encouraging of each other as well as fun to see everyone learn to fly! Thanks!
Posted in Activities, Pictures, Student News
We have been most fortunate over the last week to have some great new personalities around the school.
To celebrate this we have been doing some fun activities (as well as some serious studying of course!!)
A very special hello and warm welcome to our Hatsushiba Hashimoto High school students. It’s great to have you here and we wish you all the best for your upcoming study and life in Byron Bay.
Posted in Activities, Announcements, Pictures, Student News
We have been enormously lucky these days in Byron with a fantastically mild winter, days of beautiful sunshine and whales swimming in the sea!
To celebrate these lovely days we had another fun BBQ. Thanks to everyone for making it another fun day!
Posted in Activities, Announcements, Pictures, Student News
Very sadly we had to say goodbye to our dear and very special Bec’s today.
She has been an absolute integral part of the school and we have all grown to love her with her multitude of talents! It was very sad to say goodbye but we struggled through by eating lots of cakes !!
Thanks a million for all your help as well as for all the joy, enthusiasm and humour that you brought to GV Byron Bay. We’ll miss you!!
Posted in Activities, Announcements, Stay in Touch, Student News
The pressure has been building and the newly rectified table tennis table has been seeing a flurry of recent activity.
After many requests we had to have a competition to see who really is the TRUE GV Byron Bay table tennis champion! And the winners were …
1st place) Eduardo
2nd place) Fe
3rd) Eduardo Lage!
Well done guys. What a marathon!! They played for three and a half hours!! Fantastic! Hope you enjoyed the chocolate!
Posted in Activities, Pictures, Student News
To warm us all up on these colder winter days, our Italian students kindly offered to make us all Italian cabonara! It was absolutely delicious and a real treat for us all.
Thank you Riccardo and Nicolo for all your help!
Posted in Activities, Student News
One of our Spanish students is an incredibly talented flamenco singer who I had the great fortune of listening to on Saturday night. Sergio is going to play again, at the Buddha Bar on Monday night from 6pm. I highly recommend that we all go down and watch him and his “right handed” flamenco guiaritst.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear some brilliant music.
Will see you there Sergio!
Posted in Activities, Announcements, Byron Bay Secrets, Events, Student News
Thinking of doing other things aside from walking down the beautiful beaches, watching the whales and dolphins and enjoying the beautiful winter in Byron?
Check out:
The Lennox Head Gromfest.
This the world’s original and best gathering of young surfing talent with all of Australia’s best and many young internationals confirmed in the line-up.
Check out : http://www.visitnsw.com/town/Lennox_Head/Rusty_Gromfest/info.aspx for more details.
With our IELTS class kicking off this coming Monday I thought I’d just go through a couple of ideas on “good study practises” to help you make the most of your time here with us at GV Byron Bay.
Brainstorming!
As you will have heard constantly from Andrew, Ginny, Angie and I, brainstorming is the key to success with any kind of academic language use. It helps focus you and prepares you for the topic. There are also some other great advantages to brainstorming; such as helping enforce co-operation between students (which is really useful language practise too!) and it helps in energizing the classroom, which is better than having a coffee sometimes!
Make sure you allocate a certain amount of time for your brainstorming. In the IELTS exam, for task 2, 5-7 minutes is enough. Write down your key ideas. Then try to organise your ideas by paragraphs. Don’t write sentences, just write down the key words. Once you have come up with enough key ideas, try to think of associated vocabulary around the topic. Remember, the better your vocabulary, the better your grade.
Practise, practise, practise..Brainstorming is a critical skill in order for you to get the best possible outcome from your exam. Even a very educated native speaker will always brainstorm before attempting any kind of formal essay. So I can’t encourage you enough to do the same!
Posted in Announcements, Student News, Study
The forever multi-talented and exceptional Bec’s took some of the students down for a hard “Body Pump” class.
Just one of the many hundreds of things that Bec’s is incredible at! Thanks a lot!!
Posted in Activities, Events, Student News
Teacher Carla today gave us the benefit of her expertise and cooked an absolutely fantastic meal for all the students.
Thanks for all your hard work Carla. I know you were up half the night preparing it for us all. Amazing! From all of us a huge thankyou.
Posted in Activities, Student News
The General English classes headed down to the markets to do some “Out and About” English practise. Practising all of their hard learnt English on the locals!
It was a beautiful day and it’s always a great time meeting all the local farmers with their delicious produce.
Posted in Activities, Student News, Study
It is coming to that time of the year when internationally famou\s writers from around the world descend on Byron Bay. This year one of the guest stars is Brett Easton Ellis, the author who wrote, Less than Zero and American Pyscho.
The festival always needs volunteers, and I know several of our students have already registered to help out in the festival in what is bound to be a really interesting experience… this is a just a little reminder for you guys to get in touch now! Please read the below information provided by the writers festival.
The Festival would not be possible without our brilliant crew of volunteers and we’re very proud of their track record. It is largely due to their unfailing willingness, courtesy and hard work that the Festival has earned its reputation as a friendly, relaxed and well-run event.
Volunteering at the Byron Bay Writers Festival is an enjoyable experience. Festival volunteers meet happy people, make new friends and absorb fresh challenges. It’s rewarding, it’s stimulating and it’s fun.
Volunteers fill a wide range of roles including administration, venue and event supervision, ushering and ticket checking, driving writers about, hospitality and site maintenance.
If you have registered and have an enquiry please email
As part of our regular General English classes we ask our students to reflect on their lives in and around Byron… This is Sergio from Spain’s story! Thanks!
There are so many awesome places where you can travel to in Australia and especially near Byron Bay
I’ve been in Aussie for three months now and have been to lots of different places! Some of my favourites have been Lennox Head (except when we had that crazy water day), Nimbin, Gold Coast and Fraser Island. Each place has had its own special meaning to me, and almost everywhere is beautiful.
I want to talk about a funny trip I had the other week. My friends and I rented a “Byron Juicy Camper” with GPS. After an hour or two, the GPS stopped working. Of course.. we got totally lost! But, luckily, Australia is quite easy to drive around as once you find a highway, then is only one way to go and you can work it out really easily!!! We were all laughing at this…
One of my favourite things to do in Byron Bay is ride my bike around the town. There are some great places to visit and see all over Byron. Going up to the lighthouse (phew!!!!!) is hard work, but once you get there it’s so pretty. We even saw some whales the other day. That was so special! I’ve never seen a whale before… and it was a memory I will treasure forever!
Posted in Activities, Byron Bay Secrets, Pictures, Student News
This morning I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Kathrin. Kathrin is from Switzerland and works in a restaurant near a golf course!
We are all very excited about that and we will look forward to having Kathrin teach us how to make some beautiful Swiss food to help get us through the colder mornings! Welcome to GV Byron Kathrin, I’m sure you will have a wonderful time here.
Posted in Pictures, Student News
The start of the week was kicked off by the first reported sighting of a Whale for the season! It’s a beautiful Monday and seeing a whale at the start of the day is an amazing way to start the week..
We strongly recommend that you all go to the lighthouse to look out of them. They are beautiful creatures and we can look forward to seeing them for the next four or so months! Yay!!
Posted in Announcements, Byron Bay Secrets, Pictures, Student News
Today was a very sad day for us all here at GV Byron, as we said goodbye to teacher Monica..
Monica has been an extremely well-loved and respected teacher, and we will certainly miss you very much. I’d like to thank you very much on behalf of the whole GV team for all of your hard work, dedication and…. fun that you have brought into our lives. Keep in touch, and all the best!!!
Posted in Stay in Touch, Student News, Teacher News
I caught up today with some of our FCE and CAE students and this is what they had to say about studying at GV Byron..
Hi Akane, why are you doing the CAE program?
I thought the CAE class would be a very focused and difficult classs which would push my English skills to their limit and really make me work hard to improve all areas of my language skills.
Why are you doing it in Australia?
I had heard many good things about Australia, it is a very different life than the one I knew in Japan and so I wanted to come to Australia to see how I felt about it, and to see whether what I had heard was true or not. I had also made some Australian friends in Japan, and they recommended that I come to Byron.
What will you use your CAE course towards?
I think that this course will help my life in a few different ways. Firstly it is good for my general English ability but also the CAE is recognized in many countries around the world and could be useful for future opportunities.
Do you enjoy the CAE course at Global Village Byron Bay?
Yes! Very much.. The classrooms are nice, the environment is nice. But, honestly, it’s mainly about my teacher Ginny. I have a lot of respect for her, she makes the classes interesting, her knowledge of English teaching is really impressive and she is, more than anything else, a very nice, warm funny woman.
What do you like most about studying in Byron Bay?
The life in Byron Bay. By that I mean, I find the life quite different here than the life I lead in Japan. In Japan, things are very regimented and fixed. Here I find things to have a more relaxed feel about them, the people are quite open and approachable. I feel like it’s a bit of an adventure living here, and I really wanted that feeling before I came to Byron.
Hi Tanja..
Why are you doing the FCE program?
Hmm. I’m trying to get better in English and it’s good for my job in Switzerland. I’m an office worker and I will have much better chances to get a better job and earn more money!! Also, I just want to do it for me, because I like English!
Why are you doing it in Australia?
I went to America, and it wasn’t much fun, as I wasn’t 21 and I wasn’t treated as an adult. My best friend was based in Australia, and said it was a great place to be. I talked about this with my father and he also said that he thought Australia would be a good place as there aren’t many opportunities to live this kind of life.
What will you use your FCE course towards?
To get a better job, and of course English is an important language. It’s useful, and it helps me communicate with.. well… the WORLD!
Do you enjoy the FCE course at Global Village Byron Bay?
Of course! It’s a nice place, the people are very helpful. My teacher, Andrew, is really helpful with the preparation for the exam and I have found that I have learnt lots of vocabulary that is really useful!
What do you like most about studying in Byron Bay?
The people are really helpful, it’s very different than Switzerland. People talk to you a lot and I never really feel alone. The climate is great and of course…. the beach! .
Posted in Pictures, Stay in Touch, Student News, Study
Tourism Australia is currently running a photo competition called “There’s Nothing Like Australia” which gives participants an opportunity to share their favourite moments in Australia.
The competition is a great way to show off your photographic skills and to practise your English at the same time.
When you submit your photo entry, you also need to complete the sentence “There’s nothing like…” with a phrase which explains your photo and your favourite experience in Australia.
You can enter the competition online at: http://nothinglikeaustralia.com
We encourage you all to give this competition a try.
Perhaps “There’s nothing like studying at GV Byron Bay!” might prove to be a winning entry!
Good luck!
Here are a few shots which we have to share… this is why we love living in this wonderful place.
Posted in Announcements, Byron Bay Secrets, Student News
The results from the last round of the FCE and CAE exam our out and I have had several emails from our past students telling me that they have done really well.
This is such great news and we here at GV Byron are delighted to hear this! Well done everyone, it’s a tribute to your hard work and great language skills that you have done so well. For those of you who haven’t let me know yet, fingers crossed! Cheers Justin.
Posted in Announcements, Stay in Touch, Student News, Study
The waves have been excellent recently and so we have put on a few surfing activities for the students~! Looks like everyone had a great time!
We are also going out on Monday so don’t miss out if you haven’t already been! Come and talk to Justin if you want to sign up!
Posted in Activities, Events, Student News
Roger left us this morning and we will miss him. He has an excellent sense of humour and has made us all laugh on a daily basis. His farewell was unique, as the pictures show!
Please tell us a little bit about yourself and where you are from?
I’m from Switzerland, from a small village in the south west, a place with 2700 people in it.
What did you do back at home and what made you decide to come to Australia?
In Switzerland I am a house painter. I decided to come to Australia as I spent 10 weeks in NZ last year, where I met a girl from my village who had lived in Byron Bay before, she had the best time here, and so I promised her that I would come to Byron! So now I’m here….
How long have you been at GV Byron and what were you studying?
I was here for 10 weeks, studying general English
What do you plan to do when you have completed your studies with us?
Well, sadly, I have to go home to start work and see my friends and family again.
What has been the single best moment that you have experienced since you joined GV Byron?
Ahh.. so many things.. The teachers have been really friendly and nice. Rebecca and you have been great, looked after me and made me smile a lot. Kayaking, the circus … these things were great, BBQs! As is say.. so many things
What is your favourite place in Byron?
The Main beach is my favourite place, I stayed there a lot of the time, when I wasn’t studying!!) and of course Cocomangas and the Rails..
Is there anything you’d like to add??
If I could find a real long term job here, I think I would live in Byron Bay forever. It’s a really nice place, it’s beautiful, the people are cool and it’s a great life.. I’m going to miss it!
Thanks Roger for all the laughs. You really have made the school a funny place to be! Take care, all the best and keep in touch!
Posted in Activities, Pictures, Stay in Touch, Student News
Looking for a job in Byron? Need help? We have all the answers!! Come along to the GV Byron Bay workshop which starts on Tuesday the 6th of April.
Make sure you come to the free GV Work Shop every Tuesday and Thursday April 6th and 8th from 2:00pm to 3:00pm.
Teacher Andrew will go through information on on how to write a resume and cover letter, interview techniques, language assistance and where the best places are to find work in Byron.
Don’t miss out on this essential information to give yourself the best chance at getting a job in Byron Bay.
Posted in Announcements, Jobs, Student News
We need someone to help us move furniture and other assorted jobs every day in the morning and afternoon around the school. If you are interested please come into the office and ask Justin or Rebbecca.
Posted in Announcements, Jobs, Student News
Some of you have been asking me for some of the photos we have taken over the last few weeks.. so here is a small selection of our lives here! Thanks everyone for making this such a great place to live, work and of course study in!
Posted in Activities, Announcements, Pictures, Stay in Touch, Student News
Yesterday was a big day for us here at GV Byron Bay, with the start of our new Cambridge courses and of course welcoming our new students from around the `world.
We welcome you one and all to GV Byron Bay and wish you all the best in your new life here and with your studies!
Posted in Activities, Announcements, Student News, Study
As you all know our classes are about to finsih this week and the new courses start on Monday. If you are thinking of moving into an academic preparation program, please speak to Justin to reserve your place.
On March the 22nd, we will be running the following courses:
Cambridge Exam Courses
These are general English exams. The certificates never expire and are recognised by around the world by employers, universities and government ministries as proof of ability to use English. The exams are held on the same days all around the world in March, June and December. Computer Based testing is now being introduced and extra exam dates are available in July/August.
Students are required to sit an entry test to confirm their level. The exams offered at GV Byron Bay.\
The exams take place over two days and consist of five papers; Listening, reading, writing, speaking and use of English. Cambridge has an average pass rate world wide of 60%. Byron Bay is proud to have a pass rate of 100%!!!
The courses are intensive full time (25 hours per week) and run for:
IELTS Examination Course
This is a 12 week full time course designed to prepare students to sit the International English Language Testing System, which is designed to assess the language ability of candidates who wish to study at an Australian university or college, or apply for permanent residency.
The exams take place on one or two days and there are four papers; listening, reading, writing and speaking. The result will consist of a score in each of the four skills (listening, reading, writing, speaking) which is then averaged to give the Overall Band Score or final mark. Performance is rated in each skill on a scale of 9 to 1. To study at an Australian University, an overall score of 6.5 is usually required.
The certificates are only valid for two years.
Students are required to sit a pre test. A level of around 4.5 ( intermediate) is required for entry.
Interested? Drop in and speak to Justin as soon as you can!
Posted in Student News, Study
A few weeks ago Katie joined the adminstration team here at GV Byron Bay. She wanted to let everyone know what she is doing here and so I had a quick chat to her yesterday afternoon. Welcome Katie!
How long have you been working at GV Byron Bay and what did you do before you worked here?
Hi my name is Katie, I’m from Taiwan from a big city just outside of Taipei. I have just recently started working here at GV Byron Bay, and am working to help support Rebbecca and to help with some of the student services.
At home I was an English teacher, teaching kids. I studied Italian at University and spent almost a year in Italy which was great fun in many different ways. It has been really nice to be here at GV to meet all the international students and to meet the Italians here.
I came to Byron as a great friend of mine highly recommended the life here and I had heard that Byron Bay is paradise! I also checked the blog and it looked like a great time! Besides this I really wanted to improve my English and I knew that GV Byron would be ideal for this.
Do you speak another language and what was your biggest challenge when learning it?
Well I obviously speak Chinese (Mandarin), some Taiwanese, Italian, and English. I really like learning languages, I have found that by learning a different language my whole world has opened up, and I find it fascinating to get a real glimpse into other cultures, and I think the only way that you can do that is by speaking different countries languages. I guess the most difficult thing about learning a language for me, is that I have to study after class!!
What has been the single best moment that you have experienced since you joined GV Byron?
I love my job and I loved the interaction with all of the students from around the world and making friends with them all. I am really thankful to the school for offering me the opportunity to work here and I really appreciate this chance.
What is your favourite place in Byron?
Wow this is a hard question to answer. I have to say there are two places that I really love. One is the bicycle path from my home to school as it feels like going on an adventure every time I come to work. During the day time I can see beautiful trees and animals and in the evening the sky looks so amazing. There are millions of stars and it’s astonishingly gorgeous. The other place I really like is the beach of course!!
Is there anything you’d like to add??
I just want to let the students know that I really understand where they are coming from as English is not my first language either. Please feel free to come into the office at any time to talk to me. If there is anything I can do to help, just let me know!
Posted in Activities, Pictures, Student News
Our FCE and CAE classes left us on Friday and to celebrate we had a BBQ in the sun. It was a day of mixed emotions, as everyone was happy to have the exams out of the way, but over the last three months really good friendships have been forged, and it is very sad to say goodbye to such a special group of people. We will really miss you guys, thanks for making the last few months such a great and special experience!
Posted in Activities, Pictures, Stay in Touch, Student News
As we all know it’s been raining a little too much for the last few days! Much to my delight when I went into the common room today everyone was hard at work on the computers, using the great language software! Good on you guys!!
Posted in Student News, Study, Uncategorized
We had to say goodbye to Bock today and as usual it is with very mixed feelings. Bock has been a real inspiration to us all. His charm humour and willingness to get involved with every aspect of school life and Byron life has been wonderful. Thanks so much for visiting us here in Byron it has been great!!!
Please tell us a little bit about yourself and where you are from…
I’m Bock, from South Korea, Ansan which is a medium sized city.
What did you do back at home and what made you decide to come to Australia?
In Korea I was studying Microbiology in order to become scientist. I came to Australia and in particular Byron Bay because Korea is a small country and I wanted to experience a big country and I had heard that Byron was full of good beaches and good people.
How long have you been at GV Byron and what are you studying?
I have been at GV Byron for ten weeks and have been studying in the General English program. I have loved the experience because before I came here I didn’t expect to make so many friends with so many people from overseas and to meet such amazing teachers who I had a lot of fun with, and I also learnt lots in a beautiful surrounding. I really enjoyed learning which I have to say is the first time in my life!
What do you plan to do when you have completed your studies with us?
I am off to Bundaberg tomorrow to pick fruit!! Should be fun I hope!!
What has been the single best moment that you have experienced since you joined GV Byron?
The best thing is that I have made lots of friends and had really good teachers whom I will keep in touch with!
What is your favourite place in Byron?
School!! Of course!! Haha..
Thanks Bock. It’s been great to get to know you. We will all miss you and look forward to seeing you on your way back!
Posted in Student News
I caught up with Harim before she left us here at GV Byron….
Please tell us a little bit about yourself and where you are from…
My name is Harim. I am from South Korea from a place called Daejeon. When I was in Korea I studied at University for a few years. My major was in Aircraft Cabin service, which I really enjoyed.
What did you do back at home and what made you decide to come to Australia?
I spoke to quite a few of my friends and one friend of mine really recommended Byron Bay. They told me that it was a beautiful place. I looked it up on google and saw the lighthouse and all the beautiful beaches and thought, “that’s the place for me!!”
How long have you been at GV Byron and what are you studying?
I have been studying here for 4 months and am halfway through the Intermediate level.
What do you plan to do when you have completed your studies with us?
I leave Bryon on Sunday and then I’m going up to Noosa, to go to GV up there. I have loved being in Byron, and the four months has gone past really quickly, but I want to experience different things and see some other parts of Australia, which is why I’m going to Noosa.
What has been the single best moment that you have experienced since you joined GV Byron?
I have made lots of very kind friends. The teachers are nice and I have learnt a lot.
What is your favourite place in Byron?
The beach of course.
Is there anything you’d like to add??
Byron is a beautiful place with low buildings and not too many people. It is very friendly, quiet, nice and beautiful. I recommend it to everyone!
Posted in Stay in Touch, Student News
We are delighted to report that all of our students who sat the Cambridge exams passed! Congratulations to you all! It’s a brilliant result! Well done!
Posted in Announcements, Stay in Touch, Student News
Over the last two days I have had the pleasure of receiving wonderful phone calls from all over the world! All of our CAE students who took the exam in December have passed with flying colours!! That’s a 100% success rate!!!!Fantastic news.
Well done guys. We are so happy to hear this wonderful news, and we are so proud of you and the hard work you put in to make this happen! CONGRATULATIONS!!! We here at GV Byron wish you were here so we could celebrate with you!
Posted in Student News, Study
